physician assistants

More people are coming into contact with physician assistants as they access the healthcare system and with good reason. With a continued shortage of physicians to deliver primary care, clinics, hospitals and employers are looking for ways to fill the gap. The Bureau of Labor statistics expects a 30% growth in career opportunities for physician assistants by 2020. Many of these jobs will be found in less traditional settings like prisons, universities, rural clinics and even telemedicine.

Advocates, working together with their political allies, stopped the federal government from implementing a new rule that could have inhibited the elderly from getting access to wheelchairs, nebulizers, walkers and other medical equipment.

February 24, 2012—A bill that colloquially became known as “the Zoomcare bill” passed the House with 58 votes on Wednesday, paving the way for the clinic chain’s physician assistants to begin dispensing bottled, non-narcotic medication starting in June. Senate Bill 1565 already passed the Senate unanimously earlier this session, and now awaits Governor Kitzhaber’s signature.